Sault Ste. Marie

ST. MARY’S RIVER

The St. Mary’s River is a 120 km-long river that drains Lake Superior into Lake Huron. To allow the safe passage of shipping vessels from Superior to Huron, the Sault locks were built to enable ships to navigate the 21-foot drop between water bodies. Its entire length serves as an international border separating Ontario and Michigan. Aside from its association with international trade and shipping, the river is also widely known as a world-class fishery. It contains resident populations of walleye, bass, perch, whitefish and pike, as well as seasonal populations of steelhead and coho, Atlantic, pink and king salmon.

LAKE SUPERIOR

The largest freshwater body of water in the world – Lake Superior. The lake and its basin are home to hundreds of species of fish and wildlife, and attracts thousands of visitors each year from across the globe. The largest of the 5 Great Lakes, Lake Superior could contain the volume of the other four Great Lakes within its boundaries.

Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

The city of Sault Ste. Marie is the third-largest city in Northern Ontario (population of 75,000) and is located on the shores of the St. Mary’s River. Sault Ste. Marie, also known as “The Sault”, is one of the oldest settlements in North America, with historical records of explorers, voyageurs, traders, and soldiers dating back nearly 2,000 years.The Sault Ste. Marie Region Conservation Authority (SSMRCA) is a local community partner working to recruit and mobilize EDRR volunteers in the Sault Ste. Marie area. SSMRCA owns and manages over 5,000 acres of diverse ecosystems that include forests, wetlands and shorelines. They also own and maintain five conservation areas that are open to the public: Hiawatha Highlands, Fork Creek, Mark’s Bay, Shore Ridges and Gros Cap.

Through their Children’s Environmental Education (CEE) program, SSMRCA staff provide instruction and activities to local area elementary-level students to promote environmental responsibility among youth.

Sault Ste. Marie’s industry sector, close proximity to the US border, and location on the Trans Canada Highway make it a transportation hub in northern Ontario, as well as a hotspot for new invasive species introductions. Sault Ste. Marie boasts a wide variety of ecosystem types, thus allowing it to play host to all sorts of invasive insects, diseases, plants, and aquatic organisms.

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Who We Are

The Early Detection & Rapid Response (EDRR) Network Ontario project aims to train and equip volunteers with the skills and resources needed to better detect and reduce invasive species in Ontario, one community at a time.